The Looney Tunes Show is an American animated sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and aired on Cartoon Network for two seasons from May 3, 2011, to November 2, 2013. The series featured characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon shorts in a sitcom format with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who live a suburban life together within a neighborhood of fellow cartoon neighbors, dealing with various issues in their own way. Many episodes also include a musical short under the Merrie Melodies name, and the first season also includes computer-animated shorts involving new antics between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The series received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visual style and voice acting, but criticized its writing, lack of ambition, and departures from the source material.

Premise

The Looney Tunes Show revolves around the lives of Bugs Bunny, who owns a suburban home after inventing carrot peelers that pay him royalties, and Daffy Duck, who is Bugs' roommate, as they deal with different issues and problems that they encounter, some of the time caused by Daffy's rather bad lifestyle. The pair reside within a neighbourhood inhabited by a number of notable Looney Tunes characters including Yosemite Sam, Granny, Gossamer, and Speedy Gonzales, with both Bugs and Daffy having girlfriends in the form of Lola Bunny and Tina Russo, and a regular friendship with Porky Pig. Other Looney Tunes characters, like Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, and Sylvester and Tweety, have less prominent roles but still partake in stories in their own way. Unlike other Looney Tunes productions, the series focused less on slapstick and fewer visual gags, in favor of sitcom elements including love triangles, employment and rooming. Episodes often contained at least two stories featuring Bugs and Daffy, and sometimes led by others in the show. Alongside the main plots of the episode, the story would often include a Merrie Melodies – a two-to-four-minute music videos showcasing classic characters singing brand new original songs. For the first season only, the show also included new computer-animated shorts involving Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and a new spate of antics between them.

Episodes

Characters

Main

Recurring

Others

Production

The Looney Tunes Show was originally envisioned as Looney Tunes Laff Riot, a "true-to-the-classics" show emulating the original run of Looney Tunes shorts announced in July 2009 by Warner Bros. Animation. However, it was scrapped because the executives were not impressed, and it was later retooled into the sitcom-inspired The Looney Tunes Show which premiered on May 3, 2011, on Cartoon Network. The show features new character designs by Ottawa-based artist Jessica Borutski which were first created for Looney Tunes Laff Riot and also later retooled for the final series. The Laff Riot pilot would surface on September 4, 2020. As is standard for most modern animated sitcoms like The Simpsons and Family Guy, the series does not use a laugh track. The animation was produced by Yearim and Rough Draft Korea, along with Toon City Animation in the first season. The Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner shorts were produced by Crew972.

Cancelation

On July 29, 2014, it was announced that the series would not be renewed for a third season.

Broadcast

The Looney Tunes Show premiered in the United States on May 3, 2011, through August 31, 2014, on Cartoon Network. In Australia, the series began airing on 9Go! and Cartoon Network Australia. The Looney Tunes Show premiered in Africa on Boomerang Africa on May 17, 2011, in France on Boomerang France, in the UK on Boomerang UK and on different Boomerang feeds throughout Europe. The Looney Tunes Show premiered in Canada on Teletoon on September 5, 2011.

Home media

The Looney Tunes Show has received home video releases for season 1. The season 2 episode "Super Rabbit" was released as part of the Looney Tunes: Parodies Collection on February 4, 2020. The first episode was also released on Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run as a special feature.

Reception

Critical response

The Looney Tunes Show received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the voice acting and animation, but criticized its lack of originality and differences from previous Looney Tunes incarnations (including its redesigns and portrayals of the characters and lack of slapstick). Common Sense Media gave the series 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "Fun remake of classic toon has a more grown-up feel." Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "while it doesn’t improve on the originals […] taken on its own merits, ignoring the cognitive dissonance, the show can be pretty amusing." Reviewing the first volume of season one on DVD, Wired wrote, "The Looney Tunes Show does understand what it is. It's a new series for a new generation, and it doesn't seem overly concerned with the sacred nostalgia of us oldsters. It takes strides to modernize the characters while at the same staying more or less true to their original spirit." Conversely, Brian Lowry of Variety called the first season "a disappointment," and was critical of its "short[age] on sight-gags and action […] despite the odd amusing moment," believing that it "represent[ed] a miscalculation – and a basic misunderstanding of the franchise." Writing for The A.V. Club, Brandon Nowalk wrote, "The Looney Tunes Show is the most off-putting version of Looney Tunes I’ve ever seen. Instead of a universe where anything could happen, here the plots are standard sitcom tropes. […] [the show] exists happily inside the lines." Ian Lueck of Toon Zone panned the series, calling it "bland and recycled" and writing: "Parents, if you want to start your kids on something good, show them the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts. They're better made, funnier, have more energy, and more of a personal touch than the assembly line The Looney Tunes Show." In another negative review, Maxie Zeus of Toon Zone called the show "bland" and "no worse than dull," while writing: "So who thought it would be a good idea to put the Looney Tunes characters—who even in domestic settings tend to reduce the house and furniture to matchsticks—into a sitcom? Say what you will about Loonatics Unleashed, but at least it had the courage of its psychopathic convictions."

Online response

In 2010, CBC News reported that upon revealing the redesigned Looney Tunes characters, some fans "lashed out by posting nasty [online] comments" directed toward animator Jessica Borutski, who was tasked with redesigning the characters for The Looney Tunes Show. Borutski admitted that "it was hard to see such hatred," but defended the redesigns, feeling that "[it is] time for a new generation to meet the characters." Cartoon historian Chris Robinson attributed the response to "a sense of ownership," arguing that "[fans] just really become attached to these things […] It's just so strongly rooted in their childhood that they're unable to separate themselves."

Awards and nominations

The Looney Tunes Show was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Music

Two albums compiling songs from the show have been released digitally by WaterTower Music: